


Operation: Scarlet Witness

by free2excel



Category: Original Work
Genre: Academy, Action, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Age Difference, Age Play, Angst, Army, Awkward Romance, Awkward Sexual Situations, Bad Parenting, Battle, Boarding School, Bullying, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Childhood Trauma, College, Combat, Coming of Age, Consensual, Consensual Sex, Consensual Underage Sex, Drugs, Dubious Consent, Dubious Science, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Exploration, F/M, Fake Science, Fighter Pilots, Fights, Forbidden Love, Forced Bonding, Forced Relationship, Friendship, Government Experimentation, Gun Violence, Large Breasts, Large Cock, Latex, Loss of Innocence, Loss of Parent(s), Loss of Virginity, Love, MECH, Male-Female Friendship, Manga & Anime, Mecha, Medical Experimentation, Military, Military Academy, Military Ranks, Military Science Fiction, Military Training, Military Uniforms, Older Woman/Younger Man, Oral Sex, Outer Space, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Penis Size, Plot, Plot Twists, Porn With Plot, Rape/Non-con Elements, Robot Sex, Robots, Romance, Rough Oral Sex, School, School Uniforms, Science, Science Experiments, Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Sex, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Content, Sexual Experimentation, Shota, Shotacon, Size Difference, Size Kink, Slow Romance, Smut, Space Battles, Space Opera, Space Stations, Standardized Tests, Suit Kink, Suits, Taboo, Threats of Violence, Titans, Underage Kissing, Underage Masturbation, Underage Rape/Non-con, Underage Sex, Uniforms, Vaginal Fingering, Violence, War, Young Love, shotas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:49:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25633081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/free2excel/pseuds/free2excel
Summary: Minerva Academy is the shining star of the Earth Republic, open only to those who have finished high school and show a special degree of mental, physical and emotional intelligence. Many only dream of walking through its hallowed halls and learning the skills required to pilot a Fighter - battle war mechs built for devastation and destruction.Arthir however, is unusual. It's rare for any young person to be accepted into the academy, especially not a boy only ten years old. And when people start taking notice of his natural talent, things begin to spiral out of control in a way that could turn the Earth Republic on its head...
Relationships: Original Character & Original Character, Original Character(s) & Original Character(s), Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Female Character & Original Male Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello~ Long time no see! I've been busy but I've had the urge to write something involving mechs and science fiction again, so I decided I would! I can't promise I'll finish it (much like everything I start, I'm sorry ^^") but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also, it's going to be more plot and character focused and less on smut. There will be smut but I want to keep plot and realism in tact to some degree, so I likely won't be acting on any requests for this one. Sorry~
> 
> As usual please feel free to leave any comments, feedback or criticism you may have! I love hearing from you and I hope you enjoy the story ^^

A short ten year old boy ran down the empty silver hallway of Minerva Academy, skidding around the corner as he darted past the rows of classrooms. Sweat trickled down his pale forehead as his medium length blonde hair trailed behind him, his backpack bouncing at his back with a 'clomp clomp clomp' sound that resonated through the empty halls.

In the intercom somewhere up above, a robotic sounding woman's voice echoed out, " _We vow allegiance to the Earth Republic. We vow to protect those who cannot protect themselves. We vow to represent our planet and everyone upon it-_ ".

"Shoot shoot shoot", he looked at the paper he held in his hand, then up at the numbers above each of the doors.

" _-We vow to fight and defend it to our dying breath. We vow never to let Earth fall_ ".

"Oh come on..", he groaned, turning around and doubling back down the hallway, "Why is this place so big?!"

* * *

The door slid open, but it was too late. The boy stood at the front of the classroom, sweat trickling down his forehead and all eyes on him.

A woman in her early forties with long brown hair tied into a tight bun stared at him as well, standing in front of the class at her desk and dressed in an officers suit. She pushed her spectacles up the bridge of her nose as her brown eyes locked onto him.

"Hello...Are you lost?", she asked as she raised a brow and closed the book before her.

The child shook his head, looking anxiously to the class full of adults and back to the woman before approaching her and handing her a sheet of paper.

The teacher eyed it over with scrutiny, her eyes dancing from the boy and back to the letter.

"I...see", she replied, folding the paper up and putting it down on her desk, "Well, since you missed our introductions I am Miss Fairlea. Have a seat Arthir and please don't make being late a habit".

Arthir nodded to her timidly, looking around at the class and spotting an open seat in the back row next to the window. He quietly made his way to the back of the room and sat down, peering out the window to see a number of five-story tall Fighters trading fists with one another in the arena down the road.

The teacher continued her lecture, but a couple of the men in the class whispered to one another next to Arthir.

"Why the hell is there a kid here? He's not training to be a pilot too is he? Are kids even allowed in the academy?", a blonde man with a pompous look whispered to his friend, obviously trying to keep it loud enough for the boy to hear.

"I don't know, Aidan. Maybe he's a prodigy like that Riko girl was?", his friend replied.

"Yeah but wasn't she like fourteen when she started? And she's been here for like twenty years now", the blonde guy replied with a laugh, "Maybe he's just going to be stuck here forever too". 

"I don't know man", the friend replied, facing the front of the class once again as their conversation dropped off. Despite this, Arthir felt the blonde's gaze hanging on him, and he felt the blush run through his face.

"Today we're going to have a refresher as I'm sure you've nearly forgotten everything over the Summer break, so forgive me if it's all a little rudimentary today. As you know, you have all been selected by the Academy because of your interest in becoming pilots and you have proven yourselves in early testing", Miss Fairlea returned to her desk, leaning forward against it, her red officer suit shining in the sunlight from the window.

"It takes every manner of skill and discipline to become a Fighter pilot. We will instill these within you and ensure you can perform as a pilot. Remember a weak pilot means a weak Fighter, a weak Fighter means mistakes happen, and a mistake means our enemies win. We're in the business of stopping the enemies of the Republic, not losing to them".

The woman waved a hand which automatically cleared the chalkboard in front of her before beginning to sketch a very simple design of a Fighter on it.

"I'm sure you're all aware of this, but I'm going to cover it anyway. To pilot a Fighter is actually simple - you sit within the cockpit and connect to it via the Neural Link inside the Fighter helmet. While it's a simple thing to do, learning the ins and out of these machines takes months if not years of practice". 

Miss Fairlea pulled a helmet out from beneath the desk, placing it on the table in front of her and tapping at a small plug in the back of it, "The Neural Link is the most important part of this process. Fighters have AI which allow them to fight autonomously. But the substance which powers a Fighter, known as "Meudella" is incredibly difficult to create and many of its properties are still largely unknown. What we do know, however, is that when Meudella interfaces with the mind of a user it is capable of performing hundreds of times more efficiently than without it. That's why mental strength is just as important as physical endurance - if not more so".

"Next, we'll cover a Fighter's construction..."

***

By midway through the day Miss Fairlea's lesson was over and the students ended up in the massive Mess Hall, chowing down on homemade and purchased meals alike. Arthir had found a table with two chairs by himself in the corner of the hall where he ate a pre-made vending machine meal away from the stubborn gaze of the blonde guy he had the displeasure of sitting next to earlier in class.

He flipped through the textbook he was given in class, trying to make sense of some of the bigger words and pictures within it, but it all felt hopeless.

Suddenly, a voice broke his concentration.

"Hey!"

The boy jumped, his eyes tearing away to look up in the direction of the sound.

Standing before him were two girls, both in the academy's school uniforms of white button-up blouse, red necktie and matching skirt. 

The first girl was on the shorter side with red medium length hair which was cut into a messy bob, her necktie loose around her collar and bright green eyes that shone brightly, matching her bubbly, high-pitched voice.

"Sorry to bother you!", she said as she turned the chair in front of the boy around to sit down in front of him, each leg straddling the sides of the backrest as her rather ample breasts rested against the top of it, "I'm Maisy and this is Himeka".

The girl she gestured to was much taller, with curly dark brown hair which fell down to her lower back. Her had a pair of large round spectacles and a rather blank expression to her brown eyes. Her build was a little more plump than Maisy who was on the petite side. Himeka simply offered a bow in response to the introduction, her book bag on her shoulder falling slightly off her shoulder.

"This is kinda weird I guess but...You're Arthir right? The new guy? We saw you arrive in class earlier".

Arthir nodded timidly, "Yes...that's right".

Maisy cackled, "Wow! So how old are you even? Like eight? Nine!? I have a brother who I think might be your age and I can't imagine him getting into Minerva Academy in his entire life. He's totally hopeless.".

"I'm ten", Arthir replied, anxiously feeling the fabric of his trouser's uniform. "D-Does that mean you guys are pilots too?"

"Of course!", the redhead nodded enthusiastically, "Himeka is a little better than me, but we're both in the same skill category as you...apparently".

Himeka spoke up in a soothing but flat voice, "Have you piloted before, Arthir? Did you transfer from somewhere else? It is unusual for someone so young to be enrolled here - most people are not even considered for pilot positions until they have finished high school, at least because they're not developed enough...and to be enrolled in the Second Year with us instead of the first...well, people have been talking a lot".

The boy shook his head, still a little pink in the cheeks from the attention. "N-No...I haven't ever piloted before. I-I mean...my Dad used to be a test pilot for some Republic programs, but I didn't know him very well. He died when I was little," the child reached to his juice box, slurping up the last of it before placing it back down on the table, "I...I don't really know why I was selected. It all happened so fast but...well, I agreed because it was better than being at home with my Mom...".

He looked up and noticed a sullen expression between the two of them, only just realizing their mortified expressions before he shook his head, "S-Sorry! But I'm very glad to be here, even if I don't fit in".

Maisy recovered faster, offering him a friendly pat on the shoulder, "No worries little guy! Me an' Himeka will help you fit in alright? Don't be a stranger", she asked as she nudged her friend in the curvy hip and a guffaw, "I look forward to seeing you pilot though! I wonder if you'll even fit in the seat!"

Himeka took the opportunity to nudge Maisy in the side of the head before gently ushering her from her seat by the arm.

"It was nice to meet you, Arthir. We'll see you at the Practical this afternoon", Himeka said in her Japanese accent, bowing to him before guiding Maisy off.

"See ya later!" the redhead called loudly, waving a hand to the boy as they moved towards the hall's exit.

The boy breathed a sigh of relief, settling back into his plastic seat as he stared at the wall in front of him.


	2. Riko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthir experiences his first time piloting a Fighter and it seems he's a natural! But powers above are also watching with interest...and who's this Riko woman everyone has been talking about?!

Later in the afternoon Arthir changed into his plug suit in his personal quarters and rejoined the pack of students, following at the back of the group which walked along the road through the Academy in the direction of the Training Arena. As they walked it dawned on him how many of the students already knew each other, being in their Second Year already. They stuck with one another in their own groups and paid the boy no attention. He didn't mind being ignored if it meant everyone wasn't talking about him.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his head.

"Hey kid! You excited to pilot for the first time?"

Maisy tussled his head a bit before Himeka pulled her away from him.

"Oh, hi", Arthir responded, "I...I don't know. I guess? Is it hard?"

"Really hard! It took me weeks to just learn how to walk the stupid thi-", Himeka reached out and pinched her on the peachy elbow which shut her up quickly.

"The first time is hard. You might get a headache afterward", the dark-haired girl replied, "But it gets easier with practice".

Arthir felt a pit in his stomach as they entered the bleachers which sat over top the Arena. Inside massive concrete structures surrounding the area coated in synthetic metals, completely dwarfing everyone who looked within it

"Welcome back to the Arena", Miss Fairlea replied, but the class paid little attention.

Inside the battlefield below a sleek-looking yellow Fighter was standing toe-to-toe with three other grey ones. The boy noticed on the far side of the arena a group of officers dressed in fancy Republic attire stood in the bleachers, watching the events unfold while a voice boomed over the loudspeaker.

" _Stop holding back!_ ", it buzzed as the yellow Fighter jumped between a pair of the grey ones as they moved in to sweep its legs, " _You're not pushing it hard enough! That new model should be able to do this easily_ "

 _"Shut the fuck up for two seconds!"_ , the speaker from the yellow Fighter chirped back as it rammed into the third grey Fighter, driving its fist into its midsection and knocking it to the ground.

The grey Fighter turned around, thrusting toward the yellow Fighter and grabbing onto each of its arms. By now all the class was leaning against the observation window, watching the fight.

The yellow Fighter activated its thrusters to pull them into the air. One grey Fighter lost its grip and toppled helplessly to the ground while the yellow Fighter clumsily spurted towards the wall of the Arena, thrown off balance by the weight of the grey machine still clinging to it. The yellow fighter crashed helplessly into the wall as it launched a barrage of missiles at the mech which held it, enveloping them both in a cloud of smoke in the corner of the Arena.

The loudspeaker spoke up.

" _Alright! ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH!",_ a loud horn buzzed from inside the walls and soon the officers took the elevator down to the floor of the battlefield. Though they were far away, Arthir could see the pilots exiting their Fighters all looking a little worse for wear, while a woman who emerged from the yellow mech seemed absolutely ravenous, tossing her helmet violently to the ground and storming off after speaking to (or rather, at) the officers.

"Wow, has Riko gotten even worse?", Aidan laughed to his friend, "Some prodigy! Looks like she can barely even fly around these days".

"That yellow Fighter looks like an MR-7. That's one of the new models. It's incredibly advanced...", Himeka mused to herself quietly as Maisy and Arthir listened in silence, "It would be hard for anyone to pilot that thing, even a prodigy...".

Only then did Miss Fairlea catch the class' attention, waving her hands to them as the cleanup crew moved vehicles in to clear out the mechs which littered the Arena and rolled in a new one that matched the grey training Fighters which had previously been toppled.

"Okay okay! Fun's over, now back to practice. I'm sure you're all eager to get back into a Fighter, so who wants to go first?", she asked proudly with her hands hooked to her hips. Arthir felt a hand press against his back and push him forward from the group. Looking behind him he saw Aidan giving him a sinister grin from the corner of his eye.

Miss Fairlea, however, noticed. "Ah, Arthir! Some with me then", she grinned to him, holding out a helmet for him before the pair of them approached the elevator to the bottom floor. Stepping inside she pressed the button and Arthir watched as his peers disappeared from sight, Maisy waving enthusiastically as they did so.

"You will be fine", the teacher reassured him with a warm smile, "Put the helmet on and remember the lesson from this morning and you will do fine".

Arthir stared at the bulky glass-domed helmet in his hands, watching it in silent terror before putting it atop his head.

* * *

" _Can you hear me Arthir?_ ", Miss Fairlea queried to the boy, who now sat inside the cockpit of the Fighter.

"Umm...y-yes", he replied, hearing the faint echo of his voice echoing out the mech's loudspeaker.

The cockpit was small, even small for a boy his size. Fortunately the pedals and buttons were movable and allowed him to reach all of them despite his height, Miss Fairlea helping him move them into place. The inside was dark and only highlighted by a single yellow emergency light as the Fighter around him sat dormant.

" _Good. There's a cardslot in front of you - slide your ID through it_ ".

Arthir obeyed, spotting the card reader and sliding his ID which hung from a lanyard around his neck in it. With a churn the Fighter buzzed to life. The lights flicked on around him making visible ever nook and cranny inside, while a big concave monitor turned on to reveal the view of the arena before him.

" _Welcome, pilot_ ", the AI inside the machine echoed through his radio, " _Please insert your Neural Link to assume control_ ".

"O-Oh...r-right. Okay", Arthir said aloud with hesitance, unsure if the AI could hear or even understand what he said to it. He searched behind him for a thick rubber tube and took hold of it before feeling around his helmet for the valve. Carefully he connected the two, holding his breath tightly while doing so.

It snapped into place with a loud "clack" and the boy soon felt lightheaded - like someone had sucked half of the blood from his brain. His eyelids flickered and he could feel his pulse flow through him with each heartbeat.

After a minute of air-headedness something clicked and he realized the Fighter was moving! It practically felt like an extension of himself! Gingerly he reached for the joysticks at the armrests of the cockpit, turning them gently. Before he knew it, he was walking around the Arena, one step at a time as the machine lurched to and fro with its weight.

He had made a couple of circles around the space, looking around as he got a feel for its controls. Through this, the child noticed a number of targets set up around the area - small soldiers inside fake buildings, steel twisted into the vague imitation of mechs. Almost by instinct, Arthir reached for one of the panels on the mech, flipping some switches which prompted the Fighter to raise the gun in its arm and spread open its missile canisters. The boy pressed a button on his joystick which caused the mech to lock onto the targets and unleash a barrage of weapon fire upon them - when the smoke cleared, they were still in place because of the blank rounds inside the training mech.

When he scanned the area to look for his classmates the Fighter's camera zoomed in and he saw them all watching from the bleachers overhead, their jaws dropped wide open in shock.

Miss Fairlea's voice chirped to life over the radio in his headset.

"Th-That was amazing," she stammered to him, obviously unsure of what to make of the situation, "Y-You're sure you've never piloted a Fighter before?!"

There was a few moments of awkward silence, but just before Arthir could respond in his hesitation the Fighter's A.I. spoke to him first.

" _Pilot, you are being observed_.", it said matter-of-factly.

"What? I-I know that already!"

" _No. That way, Pilot_.", the Fighter turned around, its camera zooming in on the bleachers in the opposite corner where the group of officers from Riko's mission earlier still lingered, a gray-haired general stood in front of them and watched the mech with a vicious intensity.


	3. Cram Session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthir and his new friends from the Academy struggle as the Practical exams draw ever nearer.

"Godddd I can't believe it's already been a whole semester!", Maisy groaned as she flopped herself into her bed, her uniform skirt flooping up from the momentum which caused Arthir to look away at the risk of seeing her panties beneath, "It feels like just yesterday we were all sitting around wondering why our Fighters won't turn right anymore".

Himeka dropped her bag onto the floor and sat down calmly on Maisy's desk chair, folding her arms at her chest as she looked to her peer with skeptiscim, "By 'we' you mean you and the answer is always 'you forgot to use the joystick again' ".

"Hey! I told you it was busted", the petite redhead protested.

Arthir found himself a spot to sit quietly on the floor next to Himeka, folding his legs together in front of him as he pulled one of the textbooks out of his bag.

"Well, Arthir didn't have a problem with it...", the dark haired girl offered a flat smile, kicking him playfully with her toe.

"I-I mean, maybe Maisy just forgot...she kinda does that sometimes..", he offered shyly.

Maisy groaned, flopping her head back down on the bed.

"I'm going to flunk this practical so hard you guys. If it were just target practice or something maybe I could skirt by...but why do they have to have us fight each other!? That's fucking stupid".

Himeka shrugged as she pulled open one of her books on the desk and began leafing through it.

"I think it'll be nice. We always spar with each other, but now we have a reason to go all out. Sounds liberating".

"Wait, you don't go all out on me..?", Maisy went pale as she looked over to Himeka who only answered with a smug grin before returning her attention to her book.

Arthir continued to stare into his textbook, taking notes as diligently as he could. Over the semester he had proven himself as one of the more capable pilots in the class - he was the only pilot with a perfect score on all the practices (even though he was almost completely failing in the 'theory' section of the course) and he was regularly praised by Miss Fairlea on his abilities in a Fighter. He even felt like most of the class had gotten over the fact he was so much younger than they were - with the notable exception of Aidan and his friends. Aiden still found ways to tease and harass him as the days went by - gum in his chair, snide words in earshot, the occasional fun punch which left a massive bruise on his arm...it was a constant annoyance to the ten year old.

However, in the back of his mind Arthir was usually thinking about Riko.

She had her training sessions in the Arena before their class every day, which is what started to get him into the habit of visiting the arena early just to watch her train. There was no question in his mind that she was an amazing pilot; she made the movements of the MR-7 she piloted look like a dance and it was common for her to take on three, four or even five other Fighters at the same time. Most of the time, however, she seemed to fall apart midway through battle - she would seem confident and capable at the start but suddenly she would just fail outright. It was incredibly strange and he started to see why the officers kept telling her to push harder because it seemed apparent even to Arthir that she had potential to be the best pilot he had ever seen. But he couldn't understand what she was doing there. Why was she training that MR-7? Was she still a student here, or did this mean she was a pilot now? Was she only here for years because she couldn't live up to her full potential? What if that was destined to happen to him too?

The only glimpses he ever caught of the woman were when she was storming from her Fighter or leaving the arena alongside the officers after his practice session was over. He knew she wore a white and pink plug suit and was well-shaped, with long legs, a shapely rear end and a sizable chest held into place by her tight suit. Her bangs were cut straight and she wore her hair tied back in a tight bun inside her helmet. He was thankful she never looked his way though, because he also noticed her sharp, serious glare which her bright brown eyes shined through.

The officers also never spoke to him and rarely gave him the pleasure of eye contact, but his Fighter A.I. made sure to let him know that they were taking note of him. They often spoke to one another during his sessions, taking notes and whispering amongst themselves but never doing the same to observe the other students. It made him feel uneasy and while Himeka and Maisy both suggested he talk to Miss Fairlea about their presence Arthir never had the confidence to talk about the subject and thus he resigned himself to not learning any more about the matter.

"How are we going to be paired up, anyway?", Arthir asked with a tilt of his head, brushing his blonde hair away from his forehead, "Is there some kind of signup form or something?".

The Asian girl leaned back on Maisy's desk chair before popping her pencil out of her mouth. "No. Usually they just pair you up with someone close to your skill level", she elaborated, looking toward Arthir, "So odds are good you'll get paired with someone worse than you and ace it".

"Or you'll be like me and get paired with everyone better than you and bomb it entirely", Maisy groaned, kicking her feet on the edge of the bed.

"You know if you put half as much effort into studying as you do into whining maybe you wouldn't almost fail the practical every single time, hm?", Himeka suggested as she flicked an eraser as the girl's head which bounced off it with a quiet 'thunk'.

Maisy just groaned, "I guess we'll see" before turning over on the bed once more and brushing the eraser onto the floor.


	4. Practicals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Arthir's first Practical exam! He's nervous as hell...but what will happen when a new challenge approaches - one from outside his class?

"Ow...", Maisy winced as the Arena technicians helped her out of her disabled Fighter and onto a stretcher.

"Yes, next time please avoid piloting your Fighter into the wall again, Miss Fields," the teacher advised through the radio, pushing her spectacles up her face before looking down the bleachers to the rest of the group and back to her clipboard.

"Aiden and Arthir! You're up next!"

Arthir looked over to Aiden, who stared sinister daggers at him while aggressively tussling his head with a knuckle as he walked by.

"Watch out dweeb, I'm coming for yah", he cackled, flicking him in the ear before stepping into the elevator and descending down to the arena.

Arthir swallowed nervously, zipping up the neck of his standard issue red plugsuit with a nervous sigh. Aiden was a big jerk, this much was true, but he was also one of the better students in the class and had a tendency to perform really dramatic 'hail mary' maneuvres that no one expected. Arthir felt his mouth dry up.

"Wish me luck," he begged Himeka, not sparing her a look as he headed toward the elevators to descend toward the arena.

"You got this, Arthir! Kick his butt", she assured him plainly, kneading her palm against the railing anxiously as he disappeared behind the elevator doors.

* * *

" _Okay, you two know the rules. Melee contact only, no flying allowed, if anyone so much as fires a blank from their weapon its an immediate fail - this is a fist fight not a Mexican Standoff_ ", Miss Fairlea beeped over the radio.

Arthir tried to settle himself as best he could. He had to remind himself that if he felt anxious the machine felt it too - the targeting systems, hydraulics, movement, everything would be just as shaky as the pilot was - a side effect of the Neural Link. But as he looked toward Aiden he could feel the bones of the Fighter gently rattling in his unsteady anticipation.

" _Pilot, you are being observed_ ", the A.I. reminded him.

" _Quiet, I-I know that!_ ", he snapped.

" _Acknowledged_ ", the A.I. responded before engaging in silent mode, one of its monitors showing the officers observing from the bleachers as usual.

" _Three..._ "

The boy's small hands wrapped slowly around the joysticks.

" _Two..._ "

His eyes scanned the area ahead of him, Aiden's matching grey mech positioned at the ready ahead of him, one finger pointing menacingly at Arthir's mech.

" _One..._ "

The child's breath slid out through his lips, a subtle chill running down to his lower back.

" _GO!_ "

His breath hitched as Aiden's mech bursted forward immediately, thrusters propelling him directly towards Arthir's Fighter.

"Woa-!", Arthir managed before a loud crash echoed through his Fighter, sending it sliding across the concrete ground of the arena. The internal systems began to beep faintly as the machine creaked from the stressor.

" _Minor damage sustained. Enemy advancing_ ", the A.I. warned him.

The boy was taken aback by the move, but not surprised. Most of the other pilots waited for the enemy to make the first move, but Aiden threw himself into everything fist-first, and this was no exception.

Arthir pushed on the joysticks and the mech lifted itself upright, just in time to parry the opponent's fist with his own, knocking them both backwards. Before Aiden could recover the boy moved forward, lurching a fist directly towards the cockpit at the chest of the machine which sent a rattle of machinery as the impact carried through.

Aiden's Fighter pushed its weight against Arthir's and activated the thrusters once more, propelling the pair of them towards one of the walls of the arena. Arthir's Fighter dragged its heels along the ground, tearing up the concrete beneath them in an attempt to break the momentum.

One of the monitors blipped to life to show Arthir the wall closing in behind him with great speed which sent a flush through Arthir's face. This wasn't how he wanted to lose - not to an asshole like this. 

As Aiden clicked his thrusters into even higher gear, jets of hot fury tearing the oxygen behind him as they began to edge faster toward the wall. The sound of the fuel bursting to life clicked a realization in the boy. He reached a hand around to the forgotten panel around the side of his chair he flicked a plexiglass box open smashing a small palm against a yellow button.

" _Power button pressed. Voice confirmation required to complete the sequen-_ ".

Leaning forward against the weight of the pushing Fighter, the boy closed his eyes and shouted, " _DO IT_ ".

In one motion Arthir's gray Fighter toppled lifelessly to the ground like a ragdoll, tumbling beneath the weight of Aiden's Fighter. Aiden was forced to either continue his course and crash headlong into the Arena wall - a move which would almost certainly cost him the fight - or to alter his momentum upwards. He chose the latter. 

As Arthir frantically pressed the buttons required to reengage his Fighter's power he was unable to see his opponent through his disabled monitors. However, they pipped to life just in time to see Aiden's mech hovering over top of him, ready to drop an elbow down onto the boy's machine.

" _Aiden! AIDEN! Did you hear me?! You flew and are disqualified from the match! Exit your Fighter now!_ ", the radio buzzed to life as the two mechs collided once more, Aiden delivering a series of blows onto Arthir's mech which now lay helplessly underneath it.

He continued to be pummeled by the older man's mech, impact after impact as Miss Fairlea shouted helplessly at him through the radio, until a blinding flash overcame them which left Aiden's grey mech in a slump next to the boy's.

" _Pilot: Additional hostile target detected_ ", the A.I. chirped.

Arthir couldn't help but notice Miss Fairlea's voice going quiet on the radio lifted his mech up from the ground, its inner workings rumbling as it surveyed the area. The mech's camera quickly fell on a solo yellow MR-7 mech standing at the ready inside the arena, a large beam weapon fastened to its shoulder.

" _You're mine now kid! No more holding back!_ ", a woman's voice came in through the radios the MR-7 smashed a palm against its cockpit, the weapon on its shoulder flicking with a faint orange light as it powered up again.

Arthir had to act on instinct. He ducked his mech down towards the ground to avoid the initial blast before propelling the Fighter over the air as the lazer trailed behind him, carving out a section of the arena cement behind it with its burning hot ray. He pulled the mech overtop of one of the fake buildings and took cover behind it.

"How do I fight that thing?!", Arthir called out to the Fighter's A.I.

" _Because it is a training model the Martin-Rhesus 07 is lacking in basic sensor functionality. However it is a highly advanced model of Fighter. We are outmatched_ , _Pilot_ ".

Arthir rolled his eyes. That's not what he wanted to hear. 

He looked to the large streak the laser left behind him. 

"I have to close the gap somehow", he mumbled to himself, frantically looking around the arena for something to help him with that. Unfortunately it was nothing but empty buildings and concrete strucutres - nothing that would help him at a range like that. He continued to look around until he noticed the repeated beams of energy finally stop, which only served to help him realize his plan.

* * *

The MR-7 had been waiting for minutes in silence, surveying the rows of buildings which sat before it, waiting for any sign of movement before finally beginning to pace forward slowly.

" _Hey! HEY?! Can you hear me!? Don't tell me that's all the prodigy can do!_ ", the voice echoed through the radio as it paced towards the row of buildings, cameras peeking through rows of fake roads in an attempt to spot its opponent.

Suddenly one of the buildings toppled over next to it, crashing into the side of the MR-7 and knocking it down into the building adjacent to it. From beyond the fallen building Arthir's Fighter sprung forth and seized hold of the weapon on the yellow Fighter's shoulder as it began to flicker to life in its familiar orange light. As it shot out he bent it inward, searing the laser across the arm of the MR-7 which caused it to explode in a fury of metal scrap.

But the MR-7 wasn't out yet - it unequipped the beam weapon from its chassis and thrusted forward, away from Arthir, before jumping upward into the air and thrusting itself powerfully back towards the boy's Fighter. It crashed directly into the midsection of Arthir's Fighter, crashing it into another building. Upon the impact Arthir felt a burst of fresh air as air began to seep in through the body of the Fighter.

" _Warning: Major hull damage sustained_ "

His eyes danced around the panel, hardly able to take in all the blinking buttons and warning signs fleshing in him. However, surprising even him, he felt resolute and in sync with his Fighter. Everything seem to move in slow motion as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a faint glow filling the inside of the cockpit.

Calmly, he wrapped his small fingers around the joysticks, elegantly flicking them and spurring his fighter to reach a hand out. He felt it seize hold of something in the mess of metal that was the MR-7 before him, feeling the ripples of the machine in his hands and through his Fighter. Slowly he pulled back on one of the stick, pulling something out of the opposing mech with a subtle jolt - and with that the MR-7 ceased moving.

After a few moments of surreal silence a man's voice pipped into the radio.

" _Alright, the boy wins! Arthir, power that Fighter down!_ "

* * *

Arthir crawled from the Fighter as its cockpit ejected, seeing what he had done. The head of the MR-7 looked almost carefully plucked from its body, rendering the A.I. within useless and unable to power the Fighter.

The pilot within was Riko who now stood on the roadway beneath the building, her helmet beneath her arm and a stern look on her face.

"You little prick!", she called out to him, throwing her helmet at the boy only for it to bounce helplessly off the robot next to him, but still putting a shock in him nonetheless.

"That's not fair! You really think you're gunna pass all your exams by picking apart your enemies like tha-", she was interrupted by the group of officers who arrived, the older man calling out to interrupt her.

"He showed incredible resourcefulness, thinking on his feet and adaptability in the field. In a real battle your opponent won't care what tactics you use - all that matters is winning".

Riko rolled her eyes, looking away from the scene and crossing her arms as the general removed his hat, revealing his grey hair beneath.

"I am General Squires, I oversee Operation: Scarlet Witness - a confidential R&D program", he said, helping the boy off the final stretch of the toppled building, "We've been looking for a pilot just like you for some time now, son". A sly smile crossed his lips, "How about we have a chat?".


	5. Medical Exams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthir attends his first examination as a member of Operation: Scarlett Witness and has another unexpected encounter with the cold Riko.

Arthir was lead by the officers and accompanied by Riko into one of the federal buildings on campus and sat down in a white room with no windows, where they agreed to tell him everything.

According to the General Scarlett Witness was a Research and Development project run by top agents of the Earth Republic whose objective was to study, understand and harness the power of Meudella, as many of its properties are largely unknown. It involved the piloting and experimentation of pilots and Fighters in various form in an attempt to learn more about the substance and how it can be used to advance Fighter technology on the whole. The General also told him that Riko was also a member of Scarlett Witness and had been for years now, which also put Arthir's mind at ease - so she was still at the Academy for research, not as a student who had been failing year after year? It put his mind at ease about his future at the academy at least.

Arthir wasn't sure about joining Scarlett Witness initially, but his opinion gradually changed as the officers virtually begged for his participation, offering to give him bonus credits and additional funding as compensation for his participation. They told him he would only need to pilot Fighters in sparring practices and participate in the occasional laboratory test. As for bonus credits towards his studies...well, he didn't mind the idea of not having to attend more theory classes anyway.

He came into the laboratory located at the far end of the campus after his classes to participate in a number of medical exams which they would use as the basis for the trials in the future. Though the doctors and officers didn't talk to him very much about the nature of Operation: Scarlett Witness, he got the impression from overhearing them in the waiting room that they were very excited about enrolling him.

" _It's going to change everything.._ ", he heard them muffled through the wall which caused him to edge closer to the door, " _We've been waiting for another at the Academy for years now and they've finally brought us one..._ ". Soon Arthir was practically pressed up against the door trying to hear whatever he could, but the sudden sound of footsteps caused him to flip dramatically and push himself back into his waiting chair. 

To his surprise, the footsteps came from Riko. Her long straight jet black hair down to her rear, it trailed behind her as she dipped into the seat across the room from him. Her loose hospital gown draped down her ample perky chest, curling as she lifted one thick and toned thigh over the other, staring down into a book which folded at her lap. If he had to guess he would have thought she was in her thirties, but she didn't spare a single glance at him with her cold brown eyes. In fact, she ignored him so well he could have sworn he was invisible.

It was the first time Arthir was alone with her, and he anxiously kneaded the loose hospital gown which sat at his lap, staring awkwardly down at her foot with sat firmly against the floor by way of her long legs. Finally he peeked his eyes up, glancing innocently along her body to her face.

"H-Hi! Um...th-thanks for sparring with me," he said with a shy smile, "I-I loved seeing you in action, you really kick butt. I'm a big fan!"

She continued to look down at her book, gently turning a page.

The silence cut into him deep, and he dangled his legs off the side of the chair even more quickly swinging them in his anticipation.

"...I'm looking forward to being in the project together", he added, still trying to break the ice as best he can, "How many other people are in the Operation?".

She flipped another page silently before speaking up without a look in his direction, "No one, it's just you and me".

He felt his heart sink into his stomach. He wouldn't have minded if there were other pilots who were participants, but being the only one going through the process alongside Riko shook his nerves even more. He was about to open his mouth to speak to her when the door to the medical room opened and a doctor stepped out with a smile.

"Arthir? We're ready for you".

He nodded to the man, giving the woman one last glance from the corner of his eye before disappearing into the medical room.

The exams weren't anything he hadn't experienced during his enrollment, though they were somewhat more thorough. The doctor stripped him down, recording meticulous measurements of his shape, even in areas which were normally more private while an officer stood nearby and recorded notes on the process. They sat him in a chair and scanned him with a device which displayed his vitals on screen and began to remove vials of blood from various points in his body. It was a relatively painless process, but one which still put him on edge.

After a few moments the doctor opened the chair and allowed Arthir to step down once more.

"You're all set. We'll be in touch with you when you're needed for more testing", the officer dismissed him as Arthir caught a glimpse of a page full of notes on his way out of the room - the only words he could spot clearly was the word, " _IMMEDIATELY_ ".

But with his first Summer Vacation starting at the Academy, he was beginning to wonder how long he would have to wait...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all enjoying the story so far!! Please let me know your thoughts about it in the comments! I'm currently trying to get a feel for the pace and flow of the whole thing, but I know I'm really enjoying writing it and have a lot of it planned out in advance! ^^ Thank you for reading~~


	6. HTB-01

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riko and Arthir have their first combined training exercize as part of Operation: Scarlet Witness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying something new! I found a way to make my own mechs so I might go back and add some images to them to help you see them better~ ^^

  
"God like, I know vacation just started but I honestly wish I was back at the Academy. Trust me, you'd rather be there piloting Fighters than in the middle of Bumfuck, Arkansas", Maisy sighed, curling a red fringe of hair that dangled by her forehead as the view in the holo-tablet behind her showed Arthir a porch with a bright field of orange plants at sunrise, "But we barely even use Fighters out here so I'm shit outta luck".

Himeka scoffed as the neon light bled in through her window, her hair tied up in a messy bun and her face visible without a pair of glasses for once as her holo-tablet flickered with poor reception, "Consider yourself lucky. We barely have nature in Japan these days".

Arthir was lying in his bed, holo tablet in his hands as he wiggled his feed above the pillow behind him. "I mean, you guys aren't missing much at the Academy anyways. It's sorta just business as usual. Most of the students are away so it's just a few stragglers like me and some faculty left. It's pretty boring", he grumbled.

"Have you been practicing with your Fighter?", Himeka inquired.

Arthir blushed, "Well...not yet, no. I kinda have some stuff lined up for extra credit I'm going to be doing over the summer".

Truthfully he hadn't been practicing with his Fighter but mostly since it had been almost a week since his medical exam for the Operation and he still hadn't heard back. He was saving himself for that...but maybe it wasn't going to happen as immediately as he suspected.

"What a go-getter", Himeka chuckled.

Speaking of the devil however, a notification popped up on his holo-tablet that said 'General Squires'.

"S-Sorry I have another call I need to take! I'll call you guys back-", Arthir stammered, frantically closing the call and picking up the one from the General who sat in front of a pair of mahogany shelves wit a wild smile and an Earth flag behind him.

"Hello Arthir! I hope you are doing well," he started, leaning closer to the camera, "What are your plans this Thursday? We need you for a test".

* * *

The officers provided him a brand new red plugsuit with white trim. It was much more decorative than his standard issue one the school gave him. The new one clung to his features a little more snugly which made him feel more than a little self-conscious. But when he saw it on Riko as he ran into her in the elevator he ceased his complaints - it looked amazing on her as she wore hers with the zipper pulled down to the curve of her chest which struggled against it.

He found himself in the Arena's elevator standing next to her after exiting the men's changing room, following her lead and putting his helmet on. He tore his eyes away from the wall to look up in her direction.

"Wh-What should I expect from these tests?", he asked, still trying to break the ice with his new partner. He fidgeted with the fabric of his plugsuit, the little patched that they were using to track their vitals causing his skin to itch, "Is it a bit like our Practicals?"

Riko shook her head still looking forward at the wall as she replied to him, "They don't usually tell me why we do certain tests, but it's something new each time. Usually it feels similar to regular training," she paused as her words lingered ominously in the air, "...usually".

The elevator doors opened to reveal a bulky and square-looking blue mech sitting at the ready, its cockpit open to reveal a pair of seats side-by-side.

"Good morning Pilots!", General Squires voice echoed in through the radio over their helmets, "Today you'll be co-piloting the HTB-01. It's one of the standard two-pilot Fighters. Hop on in and we'll get started".

As they approached the Fighter reached a hand out to form a step for them to pull themselves up into the upright seats. Arthir watched Riko enter first as she zipped her plugsuit up to her chin and hefted herself into the cockpit. But the Fighter had to raise its hand even further to lift Arthir's tiny frame into position. Once both of them had settled in the cockpit closed around them and the monitors flickered to life. The cockpit seats were directly next to one another and allowed a small degree of movement within, perhaps in the event the pilots needed to move to assist one another while inside the Fighter.

The woman began to flick the various components to life while the child adjusted the cockpit to better fit his stature.

"I've never piloted a Fighter like this before", he said as he pulled one of the panels up above into his reach.

"Me too", Riko said flatly, though she hardly seemed anywhere as nervous as he did.

After a couple minutes of preparation the Fighter lifted itself upright, standing a fair bit taller than the other mech Arthir had learned to pilot previously.

"Very good - hope you're both comfy! Now, start by doing a few rounds around the arena. When that's done we'll be enabling targets. Take them out as fast as you can", the General elaborated, "Communicate with your partner; remember we're all friends here, Riko".

Riko, despite her older age, seemed a little childish in her actions as she rolled her eyes, "Yes sir".

"Ready?", she asked the boy who nodded in approval.

Slowly, they both pushed their control sticks forward in unison, guiding the mech to move gradually around the arena step by step. It was a big, cumbersome machine and Arthir could easily feel when their motions were out of sync as the lurching of the mech stalled and stuttered as it did so. That being said, he could feel the resistance of his co-pilot as her movements pushed against his, the Fighter doing its best to act out both their wills - but Riko was as cold a conversationalist as a pilot as she was on foot, keeping her eyes trained on the monitors.

Over time, their movements became more and more in sync; it wasn't perfect, but they were warmed up enough for when the targets began appearing.

"Alright, follow my lead!", Riko commanded him as the targets appeared, pushing the sticks forward to burst them towards the first sets of targets, ordinance blasting on all cylinders. Arthir was caught off-guard, his sweaty palms almost slipping from the crooks of his joysticks at her movement.

"W-Wait I wasn't ready!", he grunted, pushing the sticks forward to match her and ushering the Fighter through the course. They began unloading the mech's weaponry on the targets throughout the course, Riko manning the machine gun and Arthir controlling the missiles as the A.I.'s automated turrets took care of the remaining figures.

Arthir slowly began slipping into the state he felt before - a calm, weightlessness where he could feel every pulse and movement through the machine as it arced around the corner, blasting open a series of hellfire as it did so. He could feel each and every movement the Fighter took...but he felt something else too. It felt like another heartbeat - another being - close to it. Was this Riko?

He pulled his eyes away from the hazy monitors to look at Riko who was as focused on the task as ever. She didn't seem to be in quite the state he was, but looking at her made his vision cloud even further. He could practically feel her heart beat inside of him and see the faint glow of some sort of aura which pulsated both inside the pair of them and circulated through the machine itself - some sort of previously unseen force. Opening his mouth to speak, no words escaped his lips.

A fuzzy voice cracked in on the blurry radio, " _Riko!.........Arthir........vitals reading..........touch_ ".

The woman did a double-take to the boy, only now seeming to notice him as she stared at her. The Fighter slowed to a halt as the woman unbuckled the belt which clung to her chest and lifted herself from her seat. She leaned over their armrests and reaching a hand out to rest on his.

Suddenly something snapped and Arthir saw the unknown force push through the pair of them. It felt like something ignited within him. The blurry, nebulous feeling broke away from him and kicked his heart wide open, like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart.

In some way he couldn't explain, he knew she felt it too. They simply looked at one another in silence, their mouths faintly agape before she sat back down in her seat.

" _Amazing!_ ", Squires exclaimed over the radio before his voice petered out as a voiced seemed to speak quietly behind him - it sounded like a scientist who was also observing, " _Meudella...spiking_ ".

" _Alright you two, keep running the course! Push as hard as you can!_ "

Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Riko sat herself back down in the seat as they both hooked their hands to the joysticks, pushing the HTB-01 forward along the path. They felt completely in sync, the Fighter darting down the Arena and unleahing torrent after torrent of weaponized chaos in a wide burst as it leveled each and every target along their path. Arthir felt a closeness he had never felt before, a screech of warmth that pulsated through each and every nerve ending in his body and coursed him full of life he had never felt in his life.

The feeling didn't last long. After a few moments the sensation rapidly died. The mech stood inside a wasteland of concrete and steel, the entire corner of the arena completely decimated by the blue Fighter's attack.

Arthir was breathless, panting for air as he looked over to his co-pilot. She sat back in the seat, her chest also rising and falling with her breaths. Sweat trickled from both their brows as she returned his glance for the first time.

Fear echoed in his eyes, "What was...that?".

"They call that...a Mudella Sync", she panted as the cockpit opened up, revealing the cool breeze that blew through the cockpit, "...I've never had one...that strong before".

Squire chimed in over the radio as Riko unzipped her plugsuit back down to the curve of her breasts.

" _Amazing work, Arthir! You've already proven yourself as a real breakthrough_ ", he boasted as the child caught his breath.

"Th-Thank you", the boy responded.

" _Okay, no time to rest yet. One more test and we'll call it a day - Riko! Sit on the boy's lap and the pair of you run the course again_ ", Squires ordered coldly considering what he just demanded.

Riko's face turned red as she responded to him, looking away from the boy.

" _Excuse me?!_ ", she snapped back at him.

" _That's an order,_ Riko", he only offered as an answer before the radio fell silent.

The woman looked over to the boy who sat silently in the seat, only offering her an unsure look. He began to open his lips but the woman spoke first.

"Fucking creep...", she grumbled under her breath as she shook her head, looking away from the boy's seat as the Fighter lifted her in front of him.

"Just let me know if I'm crushing you or anything", she said to him matter-of-factly.

"O-Okay, yeah sure", he responded, pushing himself upright against the cockpit's backrest to prepare his lap for her.

She turned around, gently lowering her wide hips downward to rest upon his lap. Her hips struggled to fit between the armrests which had been calibrated to his width, so he widened them somewhat to accommodate her. Her round backside fit snugly against him, but he could tell her weight wasn't completely against him - which was for the better as anything otherwise would certainly be painful for him.

He leaned forward, trying to wrap his arms up to the joystick on the armrests as she dragged the console with weapons controls in front of her.

"I'll take the controls and he can handle the weapons", she commanded the A.I. The cockpit closed, the monitor inside Arthir's helmet flickered to life and connecting with the targeting systems.

Slowly the Fighter began to rumble an lurch into life once more. With each step of its movements he felt the motion of her body against his, the latex of her lap rubbing up against his which spurred his youthfulness to life. He never had any interest in girls before that moment but the close proximity of Riko felt like it kicked his heart to life as an unsettling feeling began to grow deep within his loins.

After a few movements around the course the elation began to build within the boy again, the lightheadedness taking over his vision as he focused his fire upon the new targets which popped up around the course.

"Riko...are you okay?", he managed himself to ask the thirty something year old whose soft cheeks pressed against his abdomen. He could see it in the energy that pulsed within them - he was confident that she was feeling it too.

"Yes", she stammered, her eyes glazed over as she looked back to him briefly before continuing their course, clearing out their targets with ease, the movements of the mech coursing through the both of them.

At his lap Arthir felt something arise, his youthful member being spurred to life by the woman's position. He felt it press against his briefs beneath the latex of his plug suit, violently trying to force its way up against the woman's pressed together thighs. This effort felt like it made him slip even more, his attention beginning to give way and leaving him feeling exhausted, on the verge of sleep.

"Riko...I...I can't...", he grumbled, beginning to shift his weight against her uncomfortably as his hands let go of the joysticks next to her and instinctually move their way towards her waist.

"Arthir, wai-", Riko started to say to the boy before his hands made contact with her, holding her waist tightly with his tiny hands which sent a shock of energy through their bodies that rattled the whole Fighter violently beneath them. His focus returned in a jolt and honed back in on the targets within his helmet as his hands snapped to the joysticks. He began decimating the targets through the arena, eyes dancing between them as the Fighter moved. Between his leg's the boy's dick stood fully at attention, pressing high into the woman. Riko danced through the obstacles with the fighter, bending and swerving it in ways it seemingly never would have been able to ordinarily as she simultaneously settled down to sit on the boy, his latex casing sliding up between her thighs.

"Hnn..", the Pilots both moaned in a quiet droned as the last of the targets fell down. Suddenly the woman fell back against the boy, their exhausted bodies breathing slow breaths against one another, hearts beating at the same pace as the Meudella Sync died down from their system.

* * *

The pilots stood in front of the officers at attention, helmets held securely beneath their arms. They didn't speak or look at one another at all after leaving the Fighter. Arthir wasn't sure how to speak to her - or if he even should - after what had transpired, and she certainly seemed to wish to avoid the whole subject altogether as she reverted to her cold, attentionless gaze.

The officers and researchers conversed in a group on their own, None of the researched seemed the slightest bit phased by the actions the pilots had taken, much to Arthir's surprise.

"Great work today, Pilots," General Squires split from the group to address them with a wide smile, "The scientists assure me this means big things for the project going forward".

Riko's face remained dead cold. Arthir simply looked as anxiously at her.

Squires offered Riko a faint 'tsk'.

"This is bigger than anything we've had to this point Riko, you should be proud".

Riko simply stood in silence, but Arthir think he saw a glimpse of moisture compounding in her eyes.

"Am I dismissed?", she asked coldly.

The General sighed, nodding in response to her which she immediately turned away and marched toward the elevator.

Arthir watched her walk away before the General caught his attention

"Great work, Arthir. We really think you're the key to this whole Operation", he said reassuringly, patting him on the shoulder, "Don't worry about Riko. That girl's been here a while - she'll take whatever we need her to. Now go - we'll let you know when we pick up the tests again".

Arthir nodded, though the tone of the General's voice sent shivers through his spine. He wanted to help with the project...but why did Riko seem so dejected about everything?

The ten year old returned to the men's locker room, long since abandoned by the students away on vacation. He pulled off his plugsuit from his small body and was reminded of the mindlessness excitement he experienced on the mech by the wet, sweet smelling stain in his pants. He pulled open the elastic of his briefs to reveal the wet, white strands trapped inside, releasing them to the cool air as his heart sunk once more in guilt.


	7. The Full Sync

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> General Squires arranges an experiment for Arthir to carry out in the name of Operation Scarlet Witness, but Arthir suddenly realizes it will be much more suspicious in nature than ever before.

_Earth denounces Mars' annexation of Phobos, threatens violent retaliation._

A few weeks later, Arthir browsed through his holo-tablet idly, flipping through news articles and other miscellaneous items. The tool had largely just been used by him to play games but ever since his experience with Riko he found himself using it to browse through illicit sites a boy his age probably shouldn't have been exploring. Most people at the academy were over 18 anyway, so it was sort of an open secret people would use them for things like this...at least that's how he reasoned it to himself. He didn't really need the material however since the mental image of Riko's wide rear end upon him remained burned deeply into his mind, but it also seemed to unlock something that urged him to explore himself, resulting in him developing many new habits he hadn't been privy to beforehand.

He also used it to call Maisy and Himeka every night. They knew he didn't really have any friends at the Academy and probably wouldn't be socializing with anyone if they didn't talk to him, so he appreciated them including him in their nightly calls - if nothing else it kept him sane. He hadn't told either of the older girls any details about his participation in Scarlett Witness, partially because what had happened felt too personal to share with anyone and also because he knew he wasn't legally allowed to because of confidentiality.

Rolling over he sat his head upon the pillow, eyes staring at the ceiling above. He didn't know how to process what had happened and he didn't really have any way of contacting Riko outside of the operation that he knew of...so instead he was stuck inside his dorm room, alone with his thoughts which promised to drive him mad.

That's why he had such mixed feelings when the next call came in.

"Hello Arthir," General Squires said with a grin, "What's your schedule looking like this Sunday?".

* * *

Arthir already felt uncertain that the test would be happening at the medical centre and not at the Arena, but he didn't think it his place to question it too much. He was relieved it meant that he wasn't going to be subjected to more close-quarter encounters with Riko.

At least, that's what he thought.

When he arrived at the medical centre he was ready in his plugsuit as instructed. The researchers greeted him warmly, handing him a Neural Link helmet and attaching a number of sensors to his body. They then lead him through the various hallways into the research wing, finally arriving at a room which they ushered him into.

The inside of the room was a sterile white with a long opaque window along both sides, a table with a upright vial of a bright blue liquid and pair of chairs in the centre. In one of the chairs sat Riko, helmet on with arms folded beneath her chest and attention locked to one of the windows next to them. Arthir put his helmet on as well, carefully walking forward and sitting down on the chair across from her, also looking in the direction of the window. He couldn't see anything through it, however the General's voice made him sure they were being watched.

" _Good morning Pilots_ ", he said as his voice rang out from the intercom above the door, " _As you've both experienced, you are both Mudella-sensitive individuals. Not only have you proven your ability to achieve and survive a full Mudella Sync but it seems through your contact you have stimulated the Mudella Sync to beyond any level we have seen previously_ ".

"What we do know about Mudella is that it is stimulated through a very specific combination of chemicals, not the least of which is a stimulate that comes alive with the activation of certain synapses within the brain, often sexual.This is not a new discovery, but one we have known for some time now, thanks to Riko's efforts".

Arthir looked over to Riko whose eyes had started to well up.

" _However, we had not had two subjects who had proven themselves Mudella sensitive. It seems this combination has proven a vastly more powerful use of the Mudella Sync - and that is something we need to gather data on today_ ".

General Squires cleared his throat.

" _Riko. Please commence._ ".

Arthir blushed, looking over to Riko wide-eyed.

Riko still looked on the verge of tears as she spoke back.

"...Why do I have to go first?"

" _Because that's an order!_ ", the General snapped back.

The woman simply fell silent. Instead of arguing further she slid her chair back away from the table. Though she wore her plug suit it clung so tightly to her that when she spread her legs open the table's length away from him, he could make out the rounded contours of her nether region behind the red and white latex. A tear trickled down her cheek as she closed her eyes, reaching a hand down between her legs before gently beginning to move her fingers against it in a rolling circle.

" _You may commence whenever you're ready, Arthir_ ".

The boy couldn't help himself but look at her, the most captivating thing in the room, as she began to pleasure herself. He could feel her motions in more than just what he saw, but almost in the air as well and gently inside himself. His dick began to bulge at his lap as he watched her, sweat trickling down his brow. He knew he shouldn't feel this way right now when Riko clearly didn't seem like she was happy to do this...and the General and the staff surely watching their every move. He was scared.

Instead of starting, he looked in the direction of the window.

"I-I don't want to", he started saying, despite his member growing inside his suit, "I want to leave".

There was a moment of silence as Riko paused her motions, but it was interrupted by the General's voice again.

" _You have no choice, Arthir! You are a member of this Operation now and you are going to help us harness the power of Mudella_ ," he threatened, a faint pounding echoing out as he barked against the boy's disobedience, " _Now...do as we say or I will be forced to take measures I assure you you will not enjoy_ ".

Arthir fell silent, looking back to Riko in fear who, for the first time, looked back at him with what looked to be a degree of sympathy.

"It's okay", she whispered to him across the room.

He swallowed, nodding to her slowly as his hand reached down to his lap and began kneading the bulge at his crotch. He wanted desperately to look at Riko to fuel his boyish desires but he knew the horrible position they were in and diligently kept his eyes closed out of respect fro her. However, he still felt as though he didn't need to at all, the hazy aura beginning to consume his brain, filling it with a vague desire and wistfulness that he could feel had started to consume the both of them.

Arthir and Riko opened their eyes at the same time, staring longingly in one another's direction. Somehow he could feel their minds almost reaching out to one another. He could see her ankles turning with the motions of her hand upon her groin, and with each motion of his groin she seemed to lift ever so slightly from her chair. The vial of liquid on the table began to churn and glow an ethereal blue hue.

Their link was interrupted by a faint voice that buzzed into the intercom, " _Yes...very good. Riko, unzip your plugsuit. Arthir, please insert yourself into her_ ".

"I'm sorry", both of them whispered to each other wordlessly.

"I know", they both replied.

Time slowed to a crawl. Riko slowly unzipped her plugsuit, the zipper moving all the way down below her vagina, revealing to the boy the delicate strip of her peachy skin down the front of her body. Her fat breasts pushed against the inside of the zipper while her toned naval seemed to point him down to her panties below which seemed to call out to him. Carefully she peeled the panties down to reveal her dripping pink lips, a patch of thick hair atop it.

Arthir gasped slowly and deeply, standing up in the room and disrobing his plugsuit from himself, dropping it harmlessly to the floor. His briefs began to cause him pain which he removed as quickly as he could, dropping them to the ground as wet strains of clear liquid dribbled to the ground. His cock was thick and long, much longer than any boy his age's ought to be, and it stood fully and aggressively at attention, twitching as it pointed toward Riko's spread legs.

He slowly walked across the room step by step towards her, stopping directly in front of her as his precum drizzled down onto her lips from his silky smooth dick.

"Be gentle", she begged with a silent look of her eyes.

Carefully he pointed himself towards her opening. As soon as the tip of his cock was surrounded by her warmth the Sync burst into full effect. The vial on the table crashed open with a violent splash of liquid. The boy plunged his dick as ravenously as he could deep inside of Riko and pushed his weight into her, who cried out in shock as the pair of them tumbled down onto the floor of the room.

"I'M SORRY!", the two pilots screamed at one another ravenously.

The room around them started to glow with a bright blue hue, the liquid spilling across the table bubbling up from the unseen power within.

As soon as his large, smooth balls slapped against her wet crux of her thighs his abdomen seized up repeatedly, his balls diligently pumping out burst after burst of thick cum deep inside her. He planted his hand on one of the woman's shoulders to pin her to the ground while the other hand seized her hand tightly, wrapping his fingers inside of hers as pump after pump of thick juice filled her insides. His seed splurged out of her tight lips and onto the sterile floor below them, his legs tightened as their eyes hyper-fixated upon one another. He saw her body pulsate with each of his strands that seeped from her, as her own cum sprayed violently upwards against his tummy.

After several moments that felt like an eternity he finally collapsed upon her exhausted, leaving Riko to stare at the plain white tiled ceiling above.

* * *

They were taken to separate recovery rooms. By the time Arthir and thanked by the General Riko was already long gone, leaving him only with a deep sense of regret.

"Riko doesn't seem happy with these experiments...", he suggested to Squires, "Is she okay?"

"This experiment has provided us with an immense amount of data," the General reassured the boy, "Riko just has trouble understanding how her contributions contribute to the project at large. She's a go-getter and always wants to do more, which is why she's never happy with what she does contribute. Whether the two of you realize it or not, you've already contributed to the project immensely".

Arthir stared at his feet that were contained beneath the bed sheets, thinking about the non-answer. He supposed that made sense and made him feel a little more helpful...but something about the General's tone was beginning to rub him the wrong way.

The General turned around to allow Arthir his time to recover, leaving him alone in the recovery room with his thoughts.


	8. Summer Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthir encounters Riko while training over the summer break and the pair of them discuss their pasts before they arrived at the academy.

Arthir arrived at the firing range, stopping at the quartermaster's counter and looked around in silence a moment. He soon heard the sound of someone rummaging around in the back, and the boy pressed a red button on the counter which let out a buzz into the office.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm comin', I'm comin'!", a man's voice called out before a stout looking middle age man appeared from behind the plexiglass.

"One handgun and some rounds please", the boy said as he pushed his ID into a slot on the counter.

The quartermaster nodded, moving into the back of the room and returning with the items he requested, pushing them through the slot to the boy.

"Busy day today! Haven't been this busy all summer", the man laughed, pulling a chair up and propping his feet up onto the window, rewarding himself after a job well done.

Busy? Arthir wondered how it was busy - after all, he was practically the only student he had seen at the Academy, and summer felt like it had only just started! There's no way students would be coming back now.

Once he entered the firing range he picked up on the sarcasm in the quartermaster's voice. The indoor shooting range was silent, all but from one of the ranges at the far end of the room, the user of which seemed to be firing rather masterfully at their targets. Approaching the far range he soon saw who it was - Riko! Quickly he ducked down behind the barrier between her range and the one next to it, hiding up against it as he felt a warm blush run over him.

It had been almost a month since their last encounter and the boy still felt the wash of shame whenever he thought about her. The moment was practically burned in his memory now and was one which his mind frequently turned back to when alone in his dorm room with nothing but his thoughts. Yet any thoughts he had of the woman came alongside the guilt which was still alive and well within him, which largely prevented him from building up the nerve to call her on the holo-tablet. He hadn't heard from the General since that day, and it was his first time seeing her outside the confines of the Operation which made him even more nervous than usual.

He peeked around the corner of the barrier, looking up at Riko once more. She was wearing the Academy uniform with pleated red skirt and tight white button up blouse, her long black hair tied back in a strict bun with a pistol held tightly in her hands. She stood at attention, arm outstretched in proper firing stance as she fired a steady round after stead round into the head of the hologram down the range in front of her, dropping it over and over again. Yet between her shots he noticed something else - her hands were shaking. And not just in the way his did when he first struggled to aim his weapon during practice because of how heavy it was - she almost seemed to be anxious, something he had never seen in her before.

Suddenly she stopped firing and unloaded her pistol, setting the empty clip on the table in front of her before loading another one.

"Did you come here to shoot or what?", she asked him coldly, obviously having clued into his presence.

He gasped, lifting himself up and nodding frantically. Without a word he ducked into the booth next to her and began to ready his own pistol as she once again began to fire into the same target in the same way over and over next to him. He watched in wonder, a single bullet into its head at short range time and time again. Why is she doing that - there has to be a better way to improve your skills, right?

As soon as he felt her look over to him again he looked away, his attention returning to his own booth as he began to input the settings to make his own holograms appear. He raised his weapon and began to fire away. While he was by no stretch a perfect shot he did hit most of the ones he took, so all things considered he could do much worse.

"You need to raise your elbow higher", the woman said from the other booth, "And don't slouch, you're going to throw off your balance when you use anything bigger than that thing".

The boy looked up to her in surprise, but simply nodded in silence before continuing to fire, trying to pretend he wasn't distracted by her very presence.

After a few more minutes of firing she packed her pistol away and threw her bag over her shoulder, turning on a heel as she began to make her way across the room towards the quartermaster's office.

Arthir's heart raced as he heard her footsteps disappearing. Quickly he placed the pistol down on the booth table and ran after her, pulling into the hallway she turned down.

"W-wait!", he called out to her, catching the woman's attention as she looked over her shoulder at him.

He looked to her in silence, forgetting that he needed to say something to follow his thought up. "U-Uhm...", he paused, simply looking at her as his heart raced, "D-do you want to get lunch or something..?"

Riko stood watching him silently for a moment, long enough for Arthir to regret asking, before she responded flatly.

"...don't keep me waiting".

* * *

Arthir placed his tray on the table, sitting down across from Riko. Though the Academy was quiet the cafeteria remained open, with only a few other students and officers seated in a smattering about the area.

Riko was already beginning to eat, reading a book set in front of her. The silence was palpable between them as Arthir stared at his food quietly, wondering what to say

"I-I'm...sorry. About what happened with th-the Operation I-", he stammered before she interrupted him.

"We shouldn't talk about the Operation here", she warned him, side-eyeing a group of students who casually strolled by.

He blushed, nodded and lowered his head, staring back at the plate in front of him. After more silence, he returned his gaze back up to her.

"M-Maybe we should get to know each other or something? Since I...I guess we'll be partners for a while, right?"

Riko pulled her eyes from her book and offered him a shrug, "Sure".

Arthir felt a sigh of relief escape him before he managed a smile.

"Great! O-okay cool...uhm...", be paused, thinking about what to ask since the conversation was now on him, "...wh-where are you from? I'm from United Europe. My Mom is too. I'm not sure about my Dad though, she always told me he was from Earth...which makes sense I guess". He raised a soda to his lips, slurping from its contents before placing it back down on the table, "My Dad was a test pilot for the Republic and my Mom repaired robots at a salt mine. I saw Fighters a lot when I was little but I never thought I'd be able to pilot one!".

Riko seemed to listen passively, finishing eating a french fry on her plate before looking up to him, "How did you end up here...? The Academy's not really a place for a child".

He felt another wash of shame, looking down at his lap as he wringed the fabric of his pants. He just shrugged.

"One day some people from the Academy came to our house and said they wanted to bring me to the Academy because I 'showed promise'," he paused as he recalled the memory of coming downstairs to see the strange men in his Mom's dining area who asked if he wanted to become a pilot.

"My Mom was really against it. She was never very happy and she would sorta...get angry with me a lot...", he mused, fidgeting even more with his pantleg, "...I thought it would be better here, at least. For both of us, you know?". He looked up to see her staring back at him.

"Anyway! Uh...yeah. I like it a lot here! And being in the...er...special program is a lot of fun. I'm glad I can feel like I'm actually helping for once".

Riko leaned back in her seat and folded her arms at her round chest.

"Mmm... I wouldn't be so sure", she mumbled to herself, "I'm not from Earth actually, I'm from Mars. I...came here when I joined the Academy".

Arthir didn't know much about Mars, but he knew the relationship between Earth and mars was tenuous at best. There had been many wars between them in the past, and Martians were often looked at with cautious by people from Earth. Still, he had never met anyone from another planet, so his eyes opened with wonder.

"Wow! Really?! How did you end up at the Academy?", he asked with wonder.

Suddenly a look of dejection flashed across Riko's face and she furrowed her brow, shaking her head.

"I don't want to talk about that", she responded sternly, "For both our sakes". Instead she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk as she peered out the window.

"Mars was beautiful though...there were jungles, forests and fields everywhere. Colonies have very strict requirements for where and what they can build, so there's so much more nature than there is here. I heard that before the terraforming Mars was nothing but dirt and rocks, it's kinda hard to believe..", she said, seemingly getting lost in her memories as her voice began to trail, "Earth is...well, nothing but concrete and steel, but at least we don't have to deal with Earth always trying to pick a fight with us or provoke us into another war for our resources...".

She cleared her throat, looking around the cafeteria to make sure she wasn't overheard, before seeming to snap back into her present self. "Sorry, I mean...Earth is fine".

Arthir nodded, having been lost in her words. Maybe that was why she was so sad all the time, she missed her home?

"That's okay, I miss my home too", he replied with a smile, trying to comfort her, "There was a kid I used to play with - his name was Gene. I never got to tell him that I was leaving since it all happened so fast...", Arthir paused, shaking off his self-doubt for a moment, returning his attention to her.

"Anyway, we're both not from around these parts right? So I want to help you be happy! I know it sucks not really fitting in", he admitted, recalling all his problems he had with Aiden over the year. "Actually, are you still a student here? I haven't seen you in any of my classes...and some people kept saying you were failing classes".

"Not officially. I mean, technically as a formality I am still a student. I can use the facilities and the Academy for my own purposes, but really I graduated years ago. I've been a part of the Operation since I first started here," she admitted, "...I guess you could say the credits really helped fast track me".

"Oh...that makes sense".

* * *

They continued to talk casually throughout the afternoon and before they knew it, the cafeteria began emptying out as it closed down for the day.

Riko looked out the window in a quiet concentration as Arthir gathered his equipment into his bag once more.

"Arthir...", she said, prompting him to look up to her and find her looking down at him.

"When you said you wanted to help me be happy", she hesitated, catching her breath before she continued, "How serious were you about that?".

He looked at her for a moment, feeling like whatever she was asking had greater meaning than he knew at the moment. Nevertheless, he knew he wanted to help her however she needed. Gripping his bag tightly, he held it close to his chest.

"Super serious. I would do anything to help you, Riko".

She watched him in silence before offering him a weak smile.

"Come on, I'll walk you back to your room".

While the walk back to his dorm room wasn't long, bringing them outside through the gardens of the massive Minerva Academy, he felt elated and wanted it to last for an eternity. Now that he knew more about her - even just a little - he felt more prepared to deal with whatever lies ahead in the Operation.

"This is mine", Arthir said as they stopped in front of the building that housed his dorm. Turning to her, he looked up.

"Hey...Do you want to start sparring together regularly? Maybe we can do something once or twice a week. The General mentioned they're working on something big, so we might not be hearing from him for a while", she shrugged, "It could be good to stay in practice".

Arthir felt his heart beat with excitement, not missing a beat before nodding excitedly.

"Yeah! Yes, for sure! That would be great!", the boy beamed, "Maybe on Thursday mornings or something?"

Riko cracked a little smile, only shrugging back to him.

"We'll work something out - I'll reach out to you", she assured him, reaching out to tussle his hair before turning around and leaving down the hallway. He watched her leave as his eyes accidentally slipped down to her wide backside before returning to his quarters, not realizing how much trouble his partner would be leading him into...


	9. Summer Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riko coaches Arthir on some of the intricacies of Mudella as the pair of them meet up over the summer for training sessions.

Ever since that summer day Arthir started training with Riko twice a week; once on weekends and once during the week.

While the sparring itself was a little mundane and not dissimilar to some of the regular practice they did during the school year, he learned a lot about how to pilot a Fighter from Riko. She taught him how to properly balance the weight of the machine; what to watch out for and how to push it to the limits of its ability. The subject of what happened during the General's experiment dared not be spoken to one another, leaving an awkward tension that persisted between them.

Riko was always the one to rent out the Arena and order the Fighters for them; some days one of them would pilot a Fighter while the other would observe and provide feedback over the radio. It helped Arthir learn a lot about how to improve his piloting and where to look for improvements for his own techniques while also allowing him to appreciate how masterfully Riko controlled her own mech.

What Arthir really looked forward to however were the sessions when Riko rented the HTB-01 and they could pilot it together like before. The experience was always similar to the last time they piloted together, but they soon began to discover the relationship between the Mudella sync and themselves - it was unstable. Some days they would achieve a sync almost immediately, clearing their courses with a masterful sense of each before being completely exhausted afterward, while other days they would never even achieve a sync, simply completing the course with an uncertain feeling between them.

On one of the latter days they sat atop the HTB-01 after practice, the cool breeze that blew through the shadowy arena. Arthir smacked a small hand against the shoulder of the machine in frustration.

"I don't get it! This stupid thing won't do the sync all the time"

Riko shook her head, standing up and unzipping her zipper down to her chest.

"Don't blame the machine", she said, "You should know by now that Mudella Syncs aren't just a matter of a machine doing it for you".

She removed her helmet and untied her bun, allowing her hair to fall down to her backside before she lowered herself to a squat next to him.

"All my years in Operation Scarlet taught me Mudella isn't something that's easy to understand. Some days it works, some days it doesn't", she blew a breath up to her forehead to blow away a stray fringe.

"I think that's why the General has us do...", she looked down the range of the Arena, away from the boy as the elephant in the room was brought up, "...that stuff he does. I think they've suspected for a while now that that sort of stimulus is what sets a Sync off, but I don't think previous 'tests' proved as fruitful as they wanted".

Arthir raised a brow.

"Previous tests...? D-do you mean that you've done that...sort of thing...before?", he inquired as delicately as he could.

She didn't offer much of a response of a moment as he saw her eyes well up slightly, nodding

"Yeah...they've done that a few times...but I wouldn't have by choice", she sighed slowly, dropping onto her butt atop the mech, "The General he's a...".

He could tell she was having trouble dealing with the feelings as she fells silent, managing a few more words, "...let's just say he doesn't treat Martians like me how he treats Earthlings like you".

"I-I'm so sorry, Riko," Arthir hung his head as he started to realize just, "A-Are...are you okay? I mean, after all that...".

"I'm going to leave", she said with a shake of her head, "And go back to Mars, when the time is right". She looked over to him in a glance of desperation, "Please don't tell anyone, especially not the General. If anyone found out about this...especially the General...I-I don't know what they would do".

Arthir nodded frantically, "Y-Yeah y-yes of course, Riko. I would never do that". Not knowing what else to do, he lifted himself to his feet carefully, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders, nuzzling himself into the collar of her neck.

"I-I want to help you...I know what it's like to be stuck in a place you don't want to be", he said as his own tears started to trickle onto her, "P-Please tell me if I can help".

Riko sat motionlessly as the boy weeped onto her before reaching out her own arms and wrapping them around his torso, pulling him gently into her.

"...Okay".


	10. The Seceding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riko and Arthir are introduced to the Scarlet Witness - the Fighter built from their experiments - and they're expected to test pilot it for the first time. But Riko has other plans...will Arthir stay by her side?

Arthir continued to train with Riko every week and before he even realized it the summer was over. Students began to funnel back to the Academy and Arthir soon began to miss how quiet the dorm rooms and hallways were at night. But with the new swarm of students also brought back his friends, and he felt much lass stressed now that Maisy and Himeka were back from their homes.

Though Himeka missed being at home, Maisy seemed to be more than a little relieved to be back in the presence of her friends - at least until classes started up again.

"We have HOW many theory classes this semester?!", she groaned as she hefted her backpack up her skinny frame, "This is absurd".

Arthir followed close behind her and Himeka lead them as they made their way to their next class on the first day of classes.

"Third year is a lot more theory stuff. I think it comes into play more next year", Himeka replied, brushing her hair behind her ear, "At least it's not fifth year, I hear it's mostly practicals".

The redhead rolled her eyes, "Oh goody, I can hardly wait...I honestly don't think I'm going to be able to inch by another year...".

"Don't worry, just actually try this year. Arthir and I will help you out," Himeka said before looking back over her shoulder to the boy, "Right Arthir?".

But Arthir was looking down at his holo-tablet which had just plopped a message up on it from General Squires.

'Big news for the Operation. We need you two for the next trial. 6 a.m. Tuesday'.

* * * 

Riko and Arthir arrived at the Arena, taking the elevator to the battlefield where the officers and researchers of the Operation gathered around.

In the centre of the Arena sat a large Fighter even taller than the HTB-01 itself. Its frame was a platinum white, with harp red armor surrounding it and a sleek face that glowed with a red intensity, and it dominated over the arena with a mighty aura. At its back a pair of platinum wing thrusters sat securely behind it, a collapsed lance, shield and burst pistol folded tightly against its lower back. 

[INSERT PHOTO HERE]

General Squires seemed to be the first to notice the duo heading towards them. He turned around to face them with a wide smile, approaching them with his arms outstretched.

"Arthir! Riko! May I present to you the Scarlet Witness Mark 1!", he announced, turning around to give the machine a wide gesture, "Months of work have led us to this! State of the art gyroscope motion controls, weaponry, hyperlight travel, it's a prototype far beyond anything we've built into a machine before. Not even mentioning a new Mudella formula which we are confident will offer more consistent Syncs between pilots".

Squires looked up at the Fighter with what looked like a profound sense of pride. But behind his back, Arthir and Riko exchanged concerned glances with one another about the prototype before them.

* * *

As they entered the cockpit it was apparent the differences between this any any mech Arthir had been in before. Instead of the reclined chair and dashboard he knew, there was an open circular space with a wide flat floor which had Mudella blowing through the base. There were monitors all around the room, pointing towards the pilot no matter what direction they faced.

" _The gyro tech will make this a little different for you - instead of your traditional joysticks and buttons you're familiar with, the Neural Link in this machine will take care of everything for you_ ," Squires said over the radio as Riko and Arthir walked out onto the platform, " _Once it attuned to you the Fighter can be controlled simply through a combination your thoughts and motions_ ".

"This makes me nervous", Riko whispered to Arthir, "this just feels too advanced".

Arthir nodded - normal Fighters alone felt like so much power in a machine, but upon seeing the inside of the Scarlet Witness the sheer power made him feel uneasy.

" _Pilots detected; Pilot mode engaged_ ", the A.I. spoke as the monitors flickered to life. While the circular platform the pilots stood on remained stable, the machine around them lifted itself up to its feet, lurching around while they stayed perfectly upright.

To Arthir the movements of the Fighter now felt miraculous. They started by piloting it around the Arena without movement by their own part, simply thinking about which direction they wanted it to go caused it to trudge in that direction. Riko raised a hand in the air and looked at it which prompted the machine to do the same.

" _The A.I. will interpret what you want to do with some liberties, so the movement is not always one to one. Take some time to get used to it,"_ the General briefed them, _"This is a huge breakthrough for the project that will open many doors for future Fighters. Give it a few rounds around the Arena to warm up a bit_ ".

Arthir looked over to Riko who stood next to him a few feet away on the platform. Though she seemed stoic, he could feel a sense of discomfort within her.

"Hey", he said to catch her attention, "It'll be okay. We can go slowly". She tore her eyes away to nod in his direction before the mech slowly began to move forward.

At first their movement was wobbly as they tried to stay in sync with the direction of their motions, but soon the mech was running effortlessly around the Arena with little effort on their part. They darted to and fro, finally skidding to a halt.

" _Great, great! Now test out the weapons systems. This time, hold hands. The new formula will ensure the contact consistently starts the Mudella Sync process_ ", Squires added.

Arthir reached an unsure hand out to Riko, who eyed it with more uncertainty from beyond the clear pane of glass beyond her helmet. She reached down to take his hand in her larger one, wrapping tightly around it as the pair of them returned their attention forward. The Fighter lurched forward, spotting targets as they looked at them on its monitors, its weapons opening up.

The boy felt that familiar sync pulse through him as he clenched Riko's hand tighter. The mech burst forward, unleashing a torrent of lasers across the Arena. He felt that familiar calm and closeness that he now knew well from the first stage of the Mudella Sync; heart slowing, calmness rising, consciousness slowing, the pair of them maneuvered the Fighter through the geometry of the Arena.

Soon they stood side my side, hand-in-hand, as the Arena targets lay obliterated before them.

" _Wonderful! Now, Riko, on your hands and knees. Arthir, let's do it just like we did last time_ ", the General ordered over the radio.

Riko shot Arthir a worried look which he reciprocated, raising his hand to his helmet to reply to the General, "Sir...I-".

" _QUIET! This is an order!_ _I don't want to hear it_ "

Arthir winced at the noise through the headset before looking up to Riko and mouthing 'I'm sorry'.

She exhaled slowly before taking a knee next to him.

"Arthir...remember when you told me you wanted to help however you can?"

He nodded in response.

"I think...this is my chance," she said to him plainly, "I don't see myself getting another chance like this to escape".

Arthir looked to her with surprise, not entirely sure how to answer.

"So...wh-what should we do? How do we do this? I-I don't really know where to go from here...", he replied as the anxiety began to peak inside him.

Riko nodded, patting his head to soothe him.

"I think I can take care of it just...", she looked around the cockpit one last time before lowering herself to her hands and knees, turning herself around so her backside faced him, "...follow my lead".

He nodded to her, carefully sallying himself up behind her, one small hand on either side of her waist and resting his groin against the curve between the cheeks of her rear. She lowered her arm beneath her, reaching down to her nether region to gently rub the outside of her suit as the boy began to slowly rub his hips instinctively up and down the crack of her suit, beginning to grow the bulge at his lap.

The Scarlet Witness began to churn beneath them, the platform they sat upon glowing a more intense blue hue as the Fighter bursted its way around the Arena with intense speed. It didn't even need to match their physical movements anymore, it moved of its own volition but still in the exact patterns and motions the pair of them envisioned.

Their grinding began to intensify as the Fighter unleashed a smattering of burst fire across the Arena, smattering the walls with expert precision before darting forward with its lance to slide one of the artificial concrete buildings on the blink of an eye, completely crumbling it with a single motion.

Inside the cockpit the duo's minds felt both concentrated on the task at hand while also caught up in the passion of the cockpit.

" _ARTHIR! Step it up more, stop holding back! Put. It. In. Her!_ "

Arthir, as clouded as his mind was as he watched Riko rub her plump backside up against his boyish crotch, snapped out of it at the demand.

"Riko I-", he started, but the woman was soon standing upright before him, her latex covered backside inches from his face.

"A.I.! Activate visual communications, frequency 551.2", she commanded before looking back to him over her shoulder, "Get ready Arthir".

The boy recognized that frequency - that was the frequency of the Academy's student radio!

"Students of Minerva Academy. I am Riko Murai. I used to be a student at your Academy, now I am a member of a top secret operation named Scarlet Witness. ", she said sternly towards the monitors, which all now reflected her face back at them, "For years I have been subject to experiments and abuse by members of the Academy in an attempt to harness the powers of Mudella and develop deadly weapons to use against the people of Mars. But today I am formally seceding from the Academy alongside Arthir Sirris. If you do not wish to be complacent in the death and destruction of innocent people, I strongly encourage you to find it within yourselves to do the same".

She stared at the camera for a moment before the the General's voice pinged in over the radio.

" _Arthir! ARTHIR! What on EARTH is that bitch doi-_ ", he started to tell before Arthir calmly pressed the button on the side of his helmet to silence him. 

Riko turned to him, placing a hand on her helmet's radio as well. 

"Get fucked, Squires", she said before turning it off.


End file.
